Kanye West only moves forward. He doesn't have the time or patience to reflect. But a showcase for his label last night forced him to look in the rearview a little. The list of West-approved acts told the story of his progression, from old friends like A Tribe Called Quest affiliate Consequence to new charges including paranoid futurist Kid Cudi. More or less, the two-hour revolving-door set played chronologically. It was a mid-career retrospective filled with specters from the past, present, future.

The first half was dubious-- there are reasons why guest appearances on Kanye records haven't led to anything for the likes of Really Doe, GLC, and Malik Yusef. And West's own questionable engagement spoke volumes. He flubbed lyrics on "We Major" and "Diamonds From Sierra Leone", and on "Crack Music" he quit two lines into the first verse, admitting, "That's all I remember." He was unapologetic about these mistakes. That was then, before Kanye made stadium rap and wounded robot laments.

Things began to turn once Kid Cudi took the stage about halfway through. Cudi walked, rhymed, and sang like he deserved to be on the same stage as West. He looked like a partner more than a student while standing next to his famous booster. And when his "Lollipop"-gone-dark hit "Day 'N' Night" went into its hyper Crookers remix, the tent filled with fashion show Fader-ites clicked. The bonkers button had been hit. It only got better from there.

Common with Erykah Badu

Surprise guest Common strolled out in the wake of Cudi's applause and immediately took control-- even his new-school/old-school misfire "Universal Mind Control" sounded less-than-embarrassing. Kanye seemed relieved to be working with an equally seasoned performer after playing mentor for over an hour. Com can be eye-rollingly awkward and lame, but he takes the Master of Ceremonies thing seriously. He's best when lunging in front of a packed house. And when the two barreled into "Get 'Em High", this get-together at Fader's sponsored-out Wayfarer oasis became a SXSW Best in Show lock. While "High" is from West's 2004 debut, it was revamped into a massive superhero anthem worthy of the most gargantuan tracks off Graduation. Past, meet present. Kanye didn't drop any of the words on that one.

If that was it, people would have been happy. But that wasn't it. In the middle of "The Light" former Com flame Erykah Badu came out to do some hook work. Erykah is a force; even Kanye had to stand back in awe, smiling. The three then went into a crowd-pleasing (and fun!) freestyle session with Badu more than holding her own among her two professional rapper friends. At some point Kanye stood in between his guests, reveling in fan-dom. Com and Erykah's earthy presence seemed to bring out some warmth and empathy in West-- traits he banked on early in his career but has lost track of recently. So the next song, "Heartless"-- which rails against a defenseless ex-- seemed a bit off. But then Kanye added a new and telling addendum: "Did I make you heartless when I cheated on you." With that, he turned a one-sided bitch fest into something more honest and effective.

Kanye West

All the momentum fed into "Good Life", Kanye's most exuberant song amid a strong field. In the middle of that one, he once again dropped some words. But this time it wasn't due to a lack of interest-- Kanye is clearly still in love with "Good Life", a nightly highlight of his recent Glow in the Dark tour. He was still flying from the Common/Erykah moment, and huffed, "I got too excited, y'all." Totally understandable.